My repainted work in progress and dilemma. (pic heavy)

Hey everyone I really wasnt too sure what section of the forums to post this under but I think this may be the right one. I recently and for the first time stripped down & repainted an older mtb frame. Figured I would post my project along the way so others can give me some advice or hopefully see its not that hard to attempt in there interested. A brief historty of the frame....It started out as a 1995 Mongoose Threshold mountain bike. After my cousin let it sit in a damp basement for years I dug it out and the frame was in good shape except for some paint peeling and a few rusty areas by the chain stays. The wheels unfortunately got pretty rusty and couldn't be saved. maybe the spoke weren't stainless ? I figured it would be a fun project and with enough parts I have laying around I could build a custom beater. And I really like the thinner tube frames than the fatter styles a lot have today. Anyway enough babbling ill get started

(sorry not many pics)
After removing everything On the bike I roughed up the paint with some sand paper so that the chemical stripper would get under the clear coat a little better.
Went to local Home depot and picked up some brush on paint stripper made by Kleen Strip. I used the brush on cause it is thicker and can get better control and less waste. Brushed it on using a disposable brush after a few attempts and some elbow grease using a metal brush I got all the original beat up cherry red paint off. And down to the bare cro-moly frame

After that was done I washed the frame a few times thank I lightly sprayed on a few light coats of rustoleum primer. Just like the paint I add later I went in small light coats wanted to not prolong dry time and drip marks. I was tempted to keep it this color at this point. But decided to go with my original idea of a blue & black theme.
After I was happy with the primer fully covering any bare metal I wet sanded it using some 3m automobile sand paper (no pic but its a black & very smooth sandpaper).
And again washed and let it completely dry before moving on to the next step.

No spray booth for me I hung it from the clothesline in the backyard. Again, I know it sounds redundant but the key to any paint job is go light & take your time. I carefully misted on a few light coats making sure to not keep the can on one spot at all or it would build up and start to drip. But if you go in light coats and do all the sections at a time so keep the paint even. After 3-4 coats and after it fully dried over night I wet sanded it down again it almost looked perfectly smooth already but I wasn't done.

After I knew I was done with the blue color I added the black fade to the back section for contrast. I didn't want to go too crazy with the paint job since it was my 1st time & also wanted to keep the aggravation level down, Anyway I sprayed on a few light coats of black using some blue painters tape & some scrap paper and cardboard to try to mask off the the rest of the frame that was blue.

After that was all done I cleaned it and applied a few light coats of lacquer (4-5). I choose lacquer because I wanted a nice durable finish, again a quick wet sand and the frame painting was almost complete. For my final coats of clear coat I applied it a little more heavier and it looked like glass at this point and set it aside to dry for 2days. I know most ppl say not to handle the paint for at least a week or 2 to fully cure but I wasn't riding mine just yet or going crazy on it. Just lightly rubbing my hand over it to feel how dry it was and smelling it, Once the paint has evaporated and the paint smell was gone I know I was good.
Heres the spray paint I used, sorry didn't get a shot of the primer and the gloss white but heres the blue, black, and the clear coat. I really liked the dry time and finish I got from the cans. Once it was all dry I buffed and waxed it with a flannel cloth the paint really popped and almost looked factory (almost lol)

I added shimano rapid fire shifters and a hybrid crank from a too small for me gary fisher I for parts. Used the front and rear de railer (shimano acerra) from the same bike. Now comes the dilemma I am currently faced with....
Since the rims were so shot I tried on a pair of 700c hybrid rims & tires I had and really like how looks of course the brakes done line up like I anticipated Any ideas besides the mavic brake adapters which would prob work fine but just seem too over priced for me (not to sound cheap but recently got laid off). Maybe some one has similar experiance or any ideas, Hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed working on this bike.
If you have any advice, or questions let me know.

Not included but there are some white accents on the bike as you can see, I didn't use an actual decal. After the primer was dry I sprayed the areas using gloss white paint. Once dried I applied some decals I printed from my computed and traced them on a piece of vinyl sticker. I placed them where I wanted and than painted on the blue and black. I removed my masked off areas with the decals and it kept the white design nice and clean. After that my sanding and clear coat was done. I didn't include this above since i didn't have any pics it might had sounded too confusing.

Looks perty dam sharp. Good rattlecan job. As far brakes go, check out caliper style brakes. Some older types might be able to work. I saw a guy do this on a Specialized MTB with 700c wheels. Looks like you have fender mounting holes in the right spot. The tires might be a bit large.

nice job !!!
my biggest problem is impatience, lol, i have to spray up, then get my neighbour to put it in his garage for a few days, to lessen the temptaion of me fiddlin' !
i try to keep my bikes covered in old blankets, the paint is not as chip-resistant as two pack paint !
good job man !

looks good. you did a better job than i did on my first bike. my first bike just got cleaned down to bare metal and then paint. i didn't prime mine but i almost wish i did.
here is my first paint job. glossy black and aluminum.
here is what the paint job looks like today. this summer i want to try painting it again but this time i have more and better tools

Thanks

and also I see other ppl did some very nice paint jobs of their own. Also thanks for the can in the warm water trick ill try that on my next re spray. The weather is getting nicer real fast, if any one is doing a similar project post your pics too.
I just ordered new tires they should be here any day, just to give me a better clearance between the front fork & give me more of a smoother road tire feel & appearance. The tires on now have a small knob design to them that I would rather not have at all.
Ill snap some pics and update the progress here, as I put the finishing touches on her. (mainly cable lines)